Doubts and Speculation Surround Apple's Onstage Face ID 'Fail' During iPhone X Keynote [Updated]

Yesterday at a media event held in Apple Park, Apple announced its much-anticipated all-screen 5.8-inch iPhone X, which features a next-generation facial authentication system called Face ID for unlocking the smartphone in lieu of a home button with Touch ID.

During the keynote at the Steve Jobs Theater, Apple software engineering chief Craig Federighi took to the stage to demo Face ID. However, much to his chagrin, the facial recognition technology appeared to fail at his first attempt to unlock the iPhone X, forcing Federighi to switch to a backup device to get the demo moving.

Screen Shot 17
Some observers have leapt on the moment as evidence that Face ID is unreliable or a yet-to-be-perfected technology that's unfit to replace Touch ID fingerprint authentication. Vice News even went so far as to link the onstage incident to a sudden drop in Apple's share price. Since the demo aired, however, several competing theories have been put forward to explain the apparent "failure".

One theory is that Apple has adopted the same reboot security measure on the iPhone X that is found on iPhones with Touch ID, and this is what stalled Federighi's Face ID demo. The moment when he tries to unlock the iPhone X with his face, a closer look at the presentation screen reveals the words "Your passcode is required to enable Face ID". As several contributors on Quora have pointed out, a similar message is seen when an iPhone with Touch ID is first switched on, or if the phone hasn't been used in the last 48 hours.

This suggests someone forgot to enter the passcode on Federighi's iPhone X after a reboot. But if that were the case, the message likely should have stated, "Face ID requires your passcode when iPhone restarts", which more accurately reflects the equivalent message Touch ID phones display after a reboot. Some have argued that Face ID wasn't even set up on the device and the failure lies with Federighi, since he made no mention of this during the demo, but we don't know for sure.


Another theory put forward is that several unsuccessful attempts had already been made to unlock the device prior to the onstage demo, since Federighi only tries to authenticate Face ID twice before the passcode screen appears, whereas Touch ID takes five consecutive failed attempts before requiring a passcode. It's possible, but unlikely, and doesn't really explain the two failed tries witnessed by the audience.

An alternative, and more concerning explanation, is that Face ID simply failed to recognize the Apple executive, suggesting the feature has accuracy issues that the company is still working to resolve. Indeed, while Face ID was generally lauded by the media during hands-on iPhone X demonstrations after the keynote, at least one journalist reported "plenty of missed unlocks", and even problems activating Face ID that were only resolved after repeatedly turning the display off and on again, which they called "a little worrying". A similar issue may have befallen Federighi on stage.

Apple claims Face ID can recognize a user's face under a variety of conditions and in poor light, despite everyday changes in appearance, such as applied make-up or beard growth. It is also said to boast a mismatch error rate of 1 in 1,000,000, compared to 1 in 50,000 for Touch ID, thanks to multiple neural networks built into the iPhone X's dual-core A11 bionic neural engine. With the iPhone X officially up for pre-order on October 27, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

Update: Face ID is disabled after five unsuccessful attempts, requiring the user to enter the device passcode in order to be re-enabled, as described in Apple's developer beta documentation, suggesting that Federighi was unable to authenticate the first device because of multiple previous failed unlock attempts.

Related Forum: iPhone

Top Rated Comments

Darryl.Jenks Avatar
85 months ago
"You're looking at it wrong."
Score: 93 Votes (Like | Disagree)
levitynyc Avatar
85 months ago
Still better than this.

Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Menopause Avatar
85 months ago
You have to wipe you face first, duhh.

Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AcesHigh87 Avatar
85 months ago
Maybe author isn't an iOS user because that message appears if you don't use your iphone for 5 hours — Touch ID (and Face ID) tokens are zeroed after five hours in non-use state and you have to enter passcode to reenable the security feature. I bet that was the case on stage.
Do you have proof of this claim? I go to bed and don't touch my phone for 6+ hours and Touch ID still works perfectly fine when I get up. The only time I need to enter my passcode is when my phone is restarted or my hands are particularly sweaty / dirty.
Score: 35 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Smartass Avatar
85 months ago
That was bad, but the real embarrassment was wasting so much Keynote time on cringeworthy emojis.
I think that impersonation of animal voices was the lowest point for Apple. Like some god damn Disney show and not a presentation for number one product from the world's most valuable company.

Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Santabean2000 Avatar
85 months ago
That was THE moment of the night that need to be flawless. And it failed.

"You had ONE JOB!", "ONE JOB!!" "Aaaarrrrgh!"
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Camera Lozenge 2 Perspective Gray

Five Key Upgrades Coming to iPhone 16

Friday March 15, 2024 1:45 pm PDT by
The iPhone is Apple's top-selling product, and it gets an update every year. In 2024, we're expecting the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro lineup, with an arguably more interesting feature set than we got with the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Capture Button All four iPhone 16 models are set to get a whole new button, which will be...
When To Expect New iPads Feature 1

Apple to Announce New iPads on March 26, Rumors Claim

Monday March 18, 2024 4:02 am PDT by
Apple is widely expected to release new iPad Air and OLED iPad Pro models in the next few weeks. According to new rumors coming out of Asia, the company will announce its new iPads on Tuesday, March 26. Chinese leaker Instant Digital on Weibo this morning 日发布%23">claimed that the date will see some sort of announcement from Apple related to new iPads, but stopped short of calling it an...
airpods 3 orange

Two New AirPods 4 Models Expected to Launch in September or October

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:56 am PDT by
Apple suppliers will begin production of two new fourth-generation AirPods models in May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Based on this production timeframe, he expects the headphones to be released in September or October. Gurman expects both fourth-generation AirPods models to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 Expected to Depreciate Heavily

Tuesday March 12, 2024 9:04 am PDT by
Resale value trends suggest the iPhone SE 4 may not hold its value as well as Apple's flagship models, according to SellCell. According to the report, Apple's iPhone SE models have historically depreciated much more rapidly than the company's more premium offerings. The third-generation iPhone SE, which launched in March 2022, experienced a significant drop in resale value, losing 42.6%...
iOS 17 Passkey With Apple ACCOUNT Feature

'Apple ID' Expected to Change to 'Apple Account' Starting With iOS 18

Sunday March 17, 2024 7:13 am PDT by
MacRumors was first to report that Apple was planning to rebrand "Apple ID" to "Apple Account" across its software platforms and websites like iCloud.com as early as this year, and now Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has corroborated this change. A mockup of the new Apple Account branding In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the new "Apple Account" branding will start to be used later this...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

iOS 17.4.1 Update for iPhone is Imminent

Monday March 18, 2024 5:27 am PDT by
iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 should be released within the next few days, with a build number of 21E235, according to a source with a proven track record. MacRumors previously reported that Apple was internally testing iOS 17.4.1. As a minor update for the iPhone, it will likely address software bugs and/or security vulnerabilities. It is unclear if the update will include any other changes. ...
M3 iPad Feature 3

New iPads Likely to Begin Shipping in April

Monday March 18, 2024 9:52 am PDT by
Apple's new iPad Pro models with OLED displays will likely begin shipping to customers in April, according to information shared today by Ross Young, CEO of display industry research firm Display Supply Chain Consultants. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman also said the new iPad Pro models might not ship until "deeper" into April in his Power On newsletter on Sunday:I've repeatedly said that new...